Some sports in which a ball is used require more than one ball for efficiency of play. For instance, in tennis it is customary when serving to serve a first ball and then if the serve is found to be improper, a second ball should be served immediately thereafter. Usually a person playing tennis keeps two or three balls in his court so that the play of the game will not be broken up by continuously having to retrieve balls. Customarily a person playing tennis either holds the extra tennis balls in his hand or keeps them in his pocket. In either case, the chore of handling the additional tennis balls is undesirable and detracts from the pleasures of the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,009, directed to a Ball Holder, discloses a two-piece tennis ball holder adapted for wearing on a garment. The two-piece tennis ball holder has a base having a spherical curvature. The base acts as a cup to hold the tennis ball. In addition, the base has a pair of fingers which are adapted to engage a belt or garment. A retaining rim is connected to the base to hold a tennis ball in the base. A tongue 24 is formed integral with the base. A retaining ring tongue 60 is formed integral with the retaining ring. The base is connected to the retaining ring by sonically welding the two tongues together.
The ball holder is used by slipping a tennis ball between the cup portion of the base and the retaining ring thereby causing a displacement of the retaining ring with respect to the cup. This displacement places a stress on the sonic weld which holds the two tongues together. If the stress is of sufficient magnitude, the weld will break. Therefore, it is often difficult to determine whether the sonic weld is a good join. The manufacturer may be uncertain as to the quality of the join between the base and the retaining ring. The only way that the weld can be tested is by placing a sufficient stress on the retaining ring to fracture the weld. This is clearly undesirable.
What is needed then is a construction which will connect the base to the retaining ring and will provide immediate indication as to whether the connection made is a strong one.